Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus and a processing method therefor that add, taking chain formation of puzzle pieces as an opportunity, a point and give damage to an enemy character or the like to advance a game.
Description of the Related Art
As a game application developed using a puzzle as a motif, there have been developed a large number of games that, for example, change the direction of or move one or more puzzle pieces (referred to as “pieces” or “blocks” as well), which are generated on a game field and move in a predetermined direction, to form, for example, a chain of pieces of the same color, perform erasing processing and perform addition processing of a point of a player for the formed chain pieces and, in the case of game progress of a battle type, perform processing for giving damage to an enemy to amuse players.
For example, for the purpose of proposing a new puzzle game, there has been proposed, for example, a moving method of an object in a game in which continuously joined objects of the same kind (corresponding to puzzle pieces) are erased (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H10-66784 (Patent Literature 1)).
That is, Patent Literature 1 discloses a puzzle game including a moving step for moving large balls of various colors sequentially displayed on a screen from a lower part to an upper part on the screen, a first discriminating step for discriminating whether a leading portion reaches the upper part on the screen, an ending step for ending the game when it is discriminated in the discriminating step that the leading portion reaches the upper part on the screen, a second discriminating step for discriminating whether the large balls of the same color form a specific array, an erasing step for erasing all the large balls when it is discriminated in the second discriminating step that the large balls of the same color form the array, a moving step for, when a large ball or a small ball is present ahead of the large balls erased in the moving direction, moving the ball downward, and a replacing step for moving a ball for replacement according to operation of a controller and replacing a ball moving on the screen with the ball for replacement.
There has also been proposed a game apparatus or the like that increases difficulty of thought and analysis of a player in a battle type game in which a block group moves in a predetermined direction (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-185727 (Patent Literature 2)).
That is, Patent Literature 2 discloses a game apparatus including a display unit on which a first game field including a plurality of block display regions, a second game field including a plurality of block display regions, and blocks are displayed, a first operation unit for inputting an operation command for the block displayed in the first game field in the display unit, and a control unit that receives the operation command in the first operation unit and controls block display in the first and second game fields of the display unit. The control unit includes connected-block erasing means for erasing and displaying the predetermined blocks on the basis of a connected state of predetermined blocks in the first game field and attack-block display means for displaying, instead of at least one block displayed in the second game field, an attack block having a resistance value based on the number of blocks erased in a predetermined time from a block erasing time by the connected-block erasing means.
There has also been proposed a game program that uses a block arrangement space (a puzzle) for the purpose of diversifying abilities of characters with equipment such as arms and protectors (Japanese Patent No. 3483252 (Patent Literature 3)).
That is, Patent Literature 3 discloses a game program for causing a computer to execute an arm, item, protector, and special ability equipping procedure for equipping characters with arms, items, protectors, and special abilities, which can be acquired in a game world, on the basis of an instruction from a player via a controller of the computer and a scenario developing procedure for giving abilities defined by the arms, the items, the protectors, and the special abilities equipped in the characters by the arm, item, protector, and special ability equipping procedure and developing the following scenario on the basis of the characters that have obtained the given abilities. The arm, item, protector, and special ability equipping procedure includes a block-arrangement-space setting procedure for setting, in a predetermined memory, a block arrangement space having a plurality of block arrangement spaces having fixed shapes in forms set in a virtual space in forms corresponding to the characters, a block converting/displaying procedure for converting an item acquired during a game by a player into a skill block corresponding to the arm, the item, the protector, and the special ability having a size and a shape corresponding to the item, generating an image of the skill block, and displaying the image on a display, a skill-block incorporating/arranging procedure for commanding to incorporate and arrange, according to a command of the controller of the computer, the converted skill block in a block arranging space in the block arrangement space as an object in the virtual space, an interference determining procedure for calculating and determining presence or absence of interference of an incorporating position of the skill block commanded by the skill-block incorporating/arranging procedure and the skill block already incorporated in the block arrangement space and, when the interference occurs, notifying the player of the interference, a block-arrangement-space display procedure for generating a video indicating an arrangement state of the skill block in the block arrangement space and displaying the video on the display, and an arm, item, protector, and special ability totalizing/equipping procedure for calculating, concerning the characters, the arms, items, the protectors, and the special abilities corresponding to all the skill blocks arranged in the block arrangement space concerning the characters and equipping the characters with the arms, the items, the protectors, and the special abilities.
However, in such game specifications for giving points and damage to an enemy taking the chain formation of the puzzle pieces as an opportunity, as interest is increased, a sense of speed tends to be reduced. Further, even if continuous linking of pieces of the same kind (forming a chain of pieces) is a condition for erasing the chained pieces, when a process of chain formation is linear or a collection of a group of pieces, a chaining process of the pieces is easily predicted. This is conspicuous for those skilled in a game a little. On the other hand, simplicity for enabling a beginner of the game to get accustomed to the game is also necessary. From such a viewpoint, there has been room for improvement in order to maintain or promoting interest of the game. That is, a processing technique is expected that improves the sense of speed of the game under simple operation in the chaining process of the pieces and is richer in variety (unexpectedness of chaining).
Further, a processing technique is expected that, concerning rearrangement of the pieces and filling of new pieces after the erasing of the chained pieces, not by the easily predictable method in the past, further varies actions of the pieces and, even when a piece group on a game field is seen as a unit, derives the piece group to perform motions rich in speed and unexpectedness of chaining.